I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 307 

To provide for partnerships among State and local governments, regional 

entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the 

visitor experience at nationally significant battlefields of the American 

Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. HICE of Georgia (for himself, Mr. ABRAHAM, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. 

CARTER of Georgia, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. COLE, Mr. COOK, Mr. 

FITZPATRICK, Mr. FORTENBERRY, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. HARRIS, Mr. 

HUNTER, Mr. KILMER, Mr. KIND, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LONG, Mr. 

LOUDERMILK, Mr. MCEACHIN, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. SIRES, Ms. 

STEFANIK, Mr. TONKO, Mr. WITTMAN, Mr. KATKO, and Mr. COLLINS of 

New York) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for partnerships among State and local governments, regional entities, and the private sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor experience at 

nationally significant battlefields of the American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Preserving America’s 

3 Battlefields Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. CIVIL WAR BATTLEFIELD PRESERVATION ACT OF 

5 2002. 

6 Section 2 of the Civil War Battlefield Preservation 

7 Act of 2002 (Public Law 107–359) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

10 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Battlefields of the American Revolution, 

12 War of 1812 and the Civil War— 

13 ‘‘(A) provide a means for the people of the 

14 United States to understand our Nation’s tur15 bulent first century; 

16 ‘‘(B) serve as living memorials to those 

17 who fought and sacrificed in these conflicts to 

18 establish and maintain our freedom and liberty; 

19 ‘‘(C) serve as training grounds for our Na20 tion’s Armed Forces; and 

21 ‘‘(D) serve as heritage tourism destina22 tions, generating revenue for local economies. 

23 ‘‘(2) According to the Report on the Nation’s 

24 Civil War Battlefields, prepared by the National 

25 Park Service and updated in 2010, of the 383 Civil 


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1 War battlefields identified as national preservation 

2 priorities— 

3 ‘‘(A) only at 31 battlefields is more than 

4 half of the surviving landscape permanently 

5 protected; 

6 ‘‘(B) at 227 battlefields, less than half of 

7 the surviving landscape is permanently pro8 tected; 

9 ‘‘(C) 65 battlefields have no protection at 

10 all; and 

11 ‘‘(D) 113 battlefields have been severely 

12 hampered by development since the Civil War 

13 or are on the verge of being overwhelmed. 

14 ‘‘(3) According to the 2007 Report to Congress 

15 on the Historic Preservation of Revolutionary War 

16 and War of 1812 Sites in the United States, pre17 pared by the National Park Service, of the 243 prin18 cipal Revolutionary War and War of 1812 battle19 fields identified as national preservation priorities— 

20 ‘‘(A) almost 70 percent lie within urban 

21 areas as denoted in the 2000 U.S. Census; 

22 ‘‘(B) 141 are lost or extremely fragmented, 

23 with residential and commercial development 

24 being the chief threats; 


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1 ‘‘(C) 100 other battlefields retain signifi2 cant features and lands from the period of bat3 tle, although on average these battlefields retain 

4 only 37 percent of the original historic scene; 

5 ‘‘(D) of these 100 surviving but diminished 

6 battle landscapes, 82 are partially owned and 

7 protected by public and nonprofit stewards, al8 though the extent of that protection varies from 

9 site to site; 

10 ‘‘(E) 18 are without any legal protection; 

11 ‘‘(F) the condition of two battlefields is un12 known, with additional research and survey 

13 being required to determine their exact location 

14 and condition; and 

15 ‘‘(G) the paucity of existing battlefield 

16 landscapes necessitates preservation and main17 tenance of what precious little remains today. 

18 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are— 

19 ‘‘(1) to act quickly and proactively to preserve 

20 and protect nationally significant battlefields of the 

21 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War 

22 through conservation easements and fee-simple pur23 chases of those battlefields from willing sellers; and 

24 ‘‘(2) to create partnerships among State and 

25 local governments, regional entities, and the private 


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1 sector to preserve, conserve, and enhance the visitor 

2 experience at nationally significant battlefields of the 

3 American Revolution, War of 1812, and Civil War.’’. 

4 SEC. 3. PRESERVATION ASSISTANCE. 

5 Section 308103(f) of title 54, United States Code, is 

6 amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

8 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to pro9 vide grants under this section $20,000,000 for each fiscal 

10 year through 2028, of which not more than 10 percent 

11 may be used each fiscal year as follows: 

12 ‘‘(1) Not more than $1,000,000 for projects 

13 and programs that modernize battlefield interpretive 

14 and educational assets through the deployment of 

15 technology, disbursed through the competitive grant 

16 process to non-profit organizations. 

17 ‘‘(2) Not more than $1,000,000 for grants to 

18 organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the 

19 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from 

20 taxation under section 501(a) of such Code to be 

21 used for projects that restore day-of-battle condi22 tions on land preserved through Battlefield Land 

23 Acquisition Grant Program funds.’’. 

Æ 


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